Tags:

Text Size

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is the highest-ranking American yet to appear at the talks.
AP Photo

Still, the Hedegaard announcement sent a shudder through an already anxious gathering a day before heads of state begin arriving by the dozens.

“With so many heads of state and government having arrived, it’s appropriate that the prime minister of Denmark presides,” Hedegaard told the 193-nation meeting.

“However, the prime minister has appointed me as his special representative, and I will thus continue to negotiate the ... outcome with my colleagues,” she said.

On Tuesday, Hedegaard made an emotional appeal for countries to put aside their differences to finalize a deal — after the G-77 bloc of developing nations accused her of trying to ram through an agreement amenable to the U.S. and other big industrialized nations.

But no sooner had Rasmussen assumed the presidency than those tensions burst out in the open again, with China, India, Bolivia, South Africa and Sudan saying they would block attempts by the Danish delegation to produce a draft text favored by most Western countries.

Minutes after taking the gavel, Rasmussen angrily denounced developing countries for seeking to delay consideration of the text, accusing them of focusing on “procedure, procedure, procedure.”

He was immediately rebuked by a representative of China, a member of the G-77 bloc, who said moving forward too quickly was tantamount to “obstructionism” and a bullying attempt by the West.

“I think the matter isn’t ‘procedure, procedure, procedure.’... You can’t just put forth some text from the sky,” the representative said.

Kerry, for his part, spent his brief time in Denmark discussing how to break the climate change logjam in the Senate, arguing that a strong COP-15 deal will help jolt the Senate into action.

“Some of my colleagues in Washington ... remain reluctant to grapple with a climate crisis mostly measured in future dangers, when they’re confronted every day with the present pain of hardworking people in a tough economic time,” the Foreign Relations Committee chairman said, referring to coal- and factory-state Democrats who view carbon caps as job-killers.

“To pass a bill, we must be able to assure a senator from Ohio that steelworkers in his state won’t lose their jobs to India and China because those countries are not participating in a way that is measurable, reportable and verifiable,” he added.

“Every American — indeed, I think all citizens — need to know that no country will claim an unfair advantage.”

India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, who sat through Kerry’s speech at the Bella Center, told POLITICO his country had already begun implementing a stringent self-monitoring program.

“We have been working on a system that would be just as transparent” as the one requested by the U.S., Ramesh said.

“Obama should put $100 billion on the table when he comes here — that would change the environment, climate of the conference,” Ramesh added, referring to a multinational fund that financier George Soros has proposed for dealing with the impact of global warming on poor countries.

Ramesh also attended Monday’s unveiling of a U.S.-sponsored initiative to spend $350 million on electric hurricane lamps and other green energy technologies for developing nations. At the time, he praised the effort, but on Wednesday he dismissed it as an inadequate down payment.

One would think that making "deals" with criminals would be a snap for Mr. Obama. Showing up at Copenhagen on the last day, to look like the big guy will prove to be a major failure.. just like his bid for the Olympics.

One would think that making "deals" with criminals would be a snap for Mr. Obama. Showing up at Copenhagen on the last day, to look like the big guy will prove to be a major failure.. just like his bid for the Olympics.

Another failure!! Has he done anything at all successfully????????? Anything??????????????????